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Eurosurveillance
Since 1995, Eurosurveillance has provided the European public health community with an open-access platform to exchange relevant findings on communicable disease surveillance, prevention and control. A weekly, electronic, peer-reviewed publication, Eurosurveillance aims to provide timely facts and guidance for public health professionals and decision-makers in the field of infectious disease to facilitate the implementation of effective prevention and control measures. Impact factor: 19. More...
Latest Issue: Volume 29, Issue 21, 23 May 2024 Latest Issue RSS feed
- Rapid communication
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New atypical epidemiological profile of parvovirus B19 revealed by molecular screening of blood donations, France, winter 2023/24
In France, blood donations are tested in pools of 96 samples for parvovirus B19 (B19V) DNA to discard plasma for fractionation when it contains high viral loads. Between January 2015 and March 2024, B19V-positive donations decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a strong rebound in 2023 and unusually high circulation during winter 2023/24 (ca 10 times higher December 2023–March 2024 vs the pre-pandemic period). Variations over time are probably related to measures implemented to limit SARS-CoV-2 spread.
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Ongoing outbreak of hepatitis A associated with sexual transmission among men who have sex with men, Portugal, October 2023 to April 2024
An outbreak of hepatitis A is ongoing in Portugal, with 71 confirmed cases from 7 October 2023 to 24 April 2024. Most cases are male, aged 18–44 years, with many identifying as men who have sex with men (MSM) and reported as suspected sexual transmission. Phylogenetic analysis identified the subgenotype IA, VRD 521–2016 strain, last observed in an MSM-associated multi-country outbreak in 2016 to 2018. We wish to alert colleagues in other countries to investigate potential similar spread.
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FosA8-producing E. coli ST131: clinical cases in Italy, February 2023
Fosfomycin-resistant FosA8-producing Enterobacterales are uncommon strains with extremely low incidence in Europe, based on only three reports in the literature. We detected FosA8-producing Escherichia coli ST131 in clinical isolates from two patients admitted in February 2023 to a rehabilitation unit in Italy. The occurrence of rare fosA-like genes in the high-risk clone ST131 is of clinical relevance. The dissemination of FosA-producing E. coli, although still at low levels, should be continuously monitored.
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Mpox in children and adolescents and contact follow-up in school settings in greater Paris, France, May 2022 to July 2023
BackgroundDuring the 2022 mpox outbreak in Europe, primarily affecting men who have sex with men, a limited number of cases among children and adolescents were identified. Paediatric cases from outbreaks in endemic countries have been associated with a higher likelihood of severe illness. Detailed clinical case descriptions and interventions in school settings before 2022 are limited.
AimTo describe clinical characteristics of mpox cases among children (< 15 years) and adolescents (15–17 years) in the greater Paris area in France, and infection control measures in schools.
MethodsWe describe all notified laboratory-confirmed and non-laboratory-confirmed cases among children and adolescents identified from May 2022 to July 2023, including demographic and clinical characterisation and infection control measures in school settings, i.e. contact tracing, contact vaccination, secondary attack rate and post-exposure vaccination uptake.
ResultsNineteen cases were notified (13 children, 6 adolescents). Four adolescent cases reported sexual contact before symptom onset. Ten child cases were secondary cases of adult patients; three cases were cryptic, with vesicles on hands, arms and/or legs and one case additionally presented with genitoanal lesions. Five cases attended school during their infectious period, with 160 at-risk contacts identified, and one secondary case. Five at-risk contacts were vaccinated following exposure.
ConclusionCases among children and adolescents are infrequent but require a careful approach to identify the source of infection and ensure infection control measures. We advocate a ‘contact warning’ strategy vs ‘contact tracing’ in order to prevent alarm and stigma. Low post-exposure vaccination rates are expected.
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Factors potentially contributing to the decline of the mpox outbreak in the Netherlands, 2022 and 2023
Manon R Haverkate , Inge JM Willemstein , Catharina E van Ewijk , Philippe CG Adam , Susan J Lanooij , Petra Jonker-Jorna , Colette van Bokhoven , Gini GC van Rijckevorsel , Elske Hoornenborg , Silke David , Liesbeth Mollema , Margreet J te Wierik , Jente Lange , Eelco Franz , Hester E de Melker , Eline LM Op de Coul and Susan JM HahnéBackgroundIn 2022 and 2023, a global outbreak of mpox affected mostly gay, bisexual and other men having sex with men (GBMSM). Outbreak control in the Netherlands included isolation, quarantine, post-exposure prophylaxis vaccination and primary preventive vaccination (PPV).
AimWe describe the course of the outbreak, the vaccination programme, vaccine effectiveness (VE) of full vaccination against symptomatic disease, and trends in behaviour to generate hypotheses about factors that influenced the outbreak’s decline.
MethodsIn this observational study, we collected data from public health services on notified cases, number of PPV invitations and PPV doses administered. We calculated PPV uptake and coverage. Trends in behavioural data of GBMSM visiting sexual health centres were analysed for all consultations in 2022. We estimated VE using the screening method.
ResultsUntil 31 December 2023, 1,294 mpox cases were reported. The outbreak peaked in early July 2022 and then declined sharply. PPV started on 25 July 2022; in total 29,851 doses were administered, 45.8% received at least one dose, 35.4% were fully vaccinated. The estimated VE was 68.2% (95% CI 4.3–89.5%). We did not observe an evident decrease in high-risk behaviour.
DiscussionIt is unlikely that PPV was a driver of the outbreak’s decline, as incidence started to decline well before the start of the PPV programme. The possible impact of behavioural change could not be demonstrated with the available indicators, however, the data had limitations, hampering interpretation. We hypothesise that infection-induced immunity in high-risk groups was an important factor explaining the decline.
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